Safe with Us

I was laying in my bed last night listening to a playlist I made for when I can't find rest. There's no loud noises but chords and words that provoke a peace that I can't really put into words. Lying there in the darkness, the words "Your Love will be Safe with Me" ring out spoken through the song re-stacks from Bon Iver. 

I think the most precious thing each of us have is our own Love. Sometimes we put this into hate, social justice, education, Jesus, work, and sometimes we put all of our love into one person; I did that once. It was a love so deep that I thought it was all I needed. It was like finding buried treasure, you know? For a season it was absolutely beautiful; but overtime we started developing an "us against the world" complex. We couldn't see how it was going to end. Later I would realize that almost every relationship that starts with an "us against the world" complex ends the same way: not healthy.

When we decide to put all of our love into one person and neglect everyone else, an unhealthy mindset starts taking hold that forgoes community. You see, Community is more than just two people and when we strive to find all the buried treasure in one person it's too much pressure. 

Marriage is beautiful and it is a great goal, but it cannot be our only goal. A community of people who are striving to thrive together is too beautiful to give up. I've decided to give all of my love to the people around me in hopes they will feel safe enough to do the same with me and others in their life. It takes a community to raise a child and an adult.

I hope we put our love into one person, but I also hope we can put our love in a community of people. I hope one day we can create communities where our love will be safe.

Bon Iver is one of my favorite artists, but if I was going to change one word in his archive of art, it would be this: Change "Your Love will be Safe with Me" to "Your Love will be Safe with us". 

Have you committed your love to a community of people?